1. Field of the Invention
This invention is believed to be found in the art classified by the U.S. Patent Office as DENTISTRY (Class 433). The jig described and shown below is designed to hold precision (prefabricated) attachments during brazing or soldering procedure, both intra- and extra-coronal attachments. These crowns are utilized for upper and lower prosthetic restoration.
2. DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
A careful pre-Ex search in the art was made and found was U.S. Pat. No. 586,023 which issued July 6, 1897 to FLETCHER. This patent was directed to soldering artificial teeth to mouth plates. This device was directed to providing an investment tray which is rotated during soldering. A tooth holder was shown in U.S. Pat. No. 1,496,412 which issued to HAMMANN on June 3, 1924. This patent was directed to holding an artificial tooth adjacent teeth in the mouth of a patient so that a color match is made. U.S. Pat. No. 1,841,870 was issued to VIRIKIAN on Jan. 19, 1932 and showed mounting a denture having insertable portions into a gap that may be present. This denture utilizes a post or pin secured to this restoration to retain an artificial tooth in position.
Also noted was the U.S. Pat. No. 2,469,339 to MANIOLA as issued May 3, 1949. This patent utilized posts or pins to hold teeth which are bored to receive said posts or pins. This removable restoration utilizes natural teeth and the undercut present. Attention is also directed to U.S. Pat. No. 3,231,977 as issued to HARRIS on Feb. 1, 1966. This patent shows apparatus for drilling holes in precise parallelism in a plurality of teeth. This drilling is to provide holes for insertion of cast bridges, etc. These holes provide anchorage for cast restorations. Also of note is U.S. Pat. No. 3,470,935 as issued to Prosen on Oct. 7,1969. This Patent provides a method of making a dental restoration with one or more porcelain teeth, each with a headed pin.
In the above-noted U.S. Patents, the attention was directed to providing a prosthetic device so as to improve appearance and particularly the efficiency of the teeth in the patient's mouth. The problem of the dentist is to provide an appliance which will properly fit and endure the extreme forces and wear associated with the patients biting and chewing of food. Improvements have been made in both materials and technique to solve these problems. The evolution and/or improvements reflected in the above-noted patents indicate this. A further improvement is believed to be the soldering of a pre-fabricated attachment to a crown with a minimal clearance at and in a precise location. The jigs as shown and described in the following specification and drawings provide a means for holding the attachment in precise relationship to the crown during the soldering procedure.